Cazoo announces revenue boom as second-hand car demand soars

Cazoo announces third-quarter success, as their offering resonates with second-hand buyers and a growing delivery culture.

The used-car retailer report a growth in revenue up 267 per cent YoY, to £174.4m in Q3.

Within this, retails revenues were up 207 per cent YoY, with a gross profit of £11.8m, up by £12.5m compared to Q3 2020.

Within their offering, Cazoo promises to deliver any car to your doorstep within 72 hours, and have been described as the Amazon of the second hand car market.

Whilst this may sound like a logistical nightmare, the number of vehicles sold up were 209% during this period. They also materially increased wholesale volumes as more cars sourced directly from consumers.

Second-hand car prices are rising at “unprecedented rates”, the AA said last week, as more people consider buying used cars amid a low supply of new vehicles.

Alex Chesterman OBE, Founder & CEO of Cazoo, was happy with the results, saying: “It is very clear that our proposition is resonating strongly with consumers and that the shift to online car buying is accelerating. The biggest constraint to growth remains our ability to recondition cars fast enough to meet demand.”

“Bringing that process in-house has led to a recent dip in vehicles available for sale during the transition and we firmly believe that greater stock levels would have resulted in even higher retail sales over Q3.”

The company forecast 2021 revenues of over £650 million (which excludes £15-20 million of sales where Cazoo sold vehicles as an agent for third parties), implying Q4 growth of over 25% quarter on quarter and over 200% year on year.

As a serial entrepreneur, Chesterman has also recently backed a new prescription app, Pharmacierge, which has raised £1.25m so far.